Sunday, July 16, 2006

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

One of our local restaurants has posted this sign on their door:

There's nowhere to leave a stroller outside, so they're basically saying they don't want kids. Plus, in the pre-sign days, Penelope and I were there once with the girls and the reception was decidedly frosty (in their defense, Penelope said she went back once after that and they were fine).

My first reaction to this sign is, "fuck you, you're not getting any more of my business" (and that's the reaction of at least one other mom in the 'hood).

This isn't the first sign like this I've seen. There's a furniture store we (used to) like at Queen and Bathurst with a sign that discourages "SUV sized strollers".

My second reaction is to consider that, well, maybe they have the right to have signs like this. But I wonder why they have them? Are children and strollers really that inconvenient? I can't rememeber the last time I was in a restaurant and was annoyed by a child. Aren't most parents pretty considerate of other diners and restaurant staff?

Personally, we only take Cakes with us for brunch or lunch. If we want to go out to dinner, we go alone. If we are out, and Cakes gets noisy, one of us takes her outside. We bring lots of toys, tip well, and pick up all the Cheerios off the floor when we leave.

The offending restaurant is not a fine-dining establishment--they're not even open for dinner.

What pisses me off is that I think they have signs like this because they think kids (and parents) aren't cool.

These too cool for school Queen Street joints don't want the babes spoiling their image.

I think this is stupid of them, as they'll lose out on a lot of business (especially in my neighbourhood where there are lots of parents, and lots of great places to eat*) but that's their choice.

60 Comments:

That attitude (theirs, not yours), really ticks me off. It's pretty good out our way. We also found THE BEST area to bring kids is little Portugal and Little Italy...they will practically babysit them for you, and all the beautiful gina's coo at them making baby all happy....

Amen, sistah. noticed that sign last time we visited you. you know how much this irks me, regardless of their decent attitude when there was only one baby. a local place in my hood recently took down a sign that listed a whole bunch of unwelcomes - wagons, strollers, scooters and a host of other parent-child related offenders. our response? we'll find other places to spend our money, fuck-you very much. you know, it's not like 'adult' clientele is always the picture of propriety. i wouldn't mind being trusted to decide for myself whether or not a venue is appropriate for my child. pure discrimination if you ask me, and if they said the same thing about a wheelchair, they'd be in pretty big doo doo.

Dude, I got this reaction at the GIANT Swiss Chalet (Love me some rotisserie chicken!) on Bloor St Near U of T! "Could you leave the stroller up front?" the bitch hostess asked me. A place that gives out crayons should be moving chairs out of the way, not asking me to leave my stroller in the lobby, miles away from where I am eating.

I don't live in your city, but I have a feeling that you are right about why they only allow one stroller at a time. They just don't want to serve a bunch of people with kids. Unbelievable. I say take your valuable dollar elsewhere. They're not worth it!

We would take our wee one all through NY in her stroller...We alwasy found bigger restaurants as we needed a big enough space for us, the stroller and the other patrons...We were the toast of the town as apparently we were the only ones who did this...So much so that restauranteurs wouold give US gifts for visiting with oour daughter... Showing NY that it is acceptable to take your kids out in public...Went out yesterday, to a very good restaurant with my daughter who is now 8 years of age...The only kid in the place...and once again...people always marvel...Perservere...Only way the kids learn that life is not all about fast food and fast talking... It is about experience and you owe it to yourself, for the latter years to have a kid that wants to dine with you...

Joe - where to begin? First, I've been there. It's not that tiny, strollers easily fold and most take up less room than a dining chair, if you were to sub it in.

second, there is only one highchair, a clear indication that only one baby is welcome at a time. babies can be messy and loud. but so can adults.

third, is it really necessary to make such broad exclamations? could the stroller issue not have been handled on a case-by-case basis, rather than slamming the door in the face of your clientele?

fourth - have you been a sahm or spent any extended period with your very young child? have you experienced the isolation, anxiety, lonliness and alienation that can accompany being a new parent? it's hard enough to find the time, energy and opportunity to have a pleasant outing with your babe and another mom/babe couple. completely reduced accessibility is a reality of life with a baby. being turned away from a neighbourhood restaurant in the middle of the day because you have a baby should not be.

i could go on, but i have a feeling lots more will be said. in the end, it is a choice, and i will choose to spend my bucks and my time, elsewhere. and i'll tell my network of mom friends to as well

That IS rude - I hope it's just a short-lived reaction to some particularly obnoxious diners they had one ngiht and they will ease up soon.

And also it's particularly foolish since, um, Queen St. was grotty and scary just a few short years ago - a pretty quick jump to getting all snooty, if you ask me! (I can say that, having owned a house near Queen E for the last 10 years!)

part of me wants to say screw-you to the narrow-minded sign writers too... but I have conformed and bought a small 'umbrella stroller that folds down to next to nothing or just use the baby bjorn when I need to go to places like this. I know I'm not a high paying customer and they really aren't obliged to cater for a dozen SUV strollers at once while penny-pinching-mums like me buy a latte each an go halves in a piece of cake with a friend. Still a very frustrating dilema!

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